Kent celebrates new recruits

Oregon coach Ernie Kent met with the media Wednesday to discuss his recruits, and guess what? He likes them, one and all.

We’ll have more on the five recruits in the print edition of The Register-Guard on Thursday, featuring the local recruit, Drew Wiley of Thurston High School.

Here’s some of what Kent had to say Wednesday:

On how the Ducks fared in the players they sought: “These are the ones we went after. It’s an excellent group to have here. They bring toughness, they bring skill, they bring intelligence, they bring size … they bring a little bit of everything we needed. “

On their playing styles: “When they get to this level and in this system, they’re really going to blossom. I love players who have the creativityon the floor to express themselves and have a passion for the game.”

On success with recruits from afar: “We feel like we have all the tools in place here. The style of play, the system, the academics, facility. Everything is on the table for them to be successful. they just have to come here with the desire and willingness to get there.”

On all five holding to early verbal commitments: “We’re dealing with good people. that we trust and they trust us. There was no doubt in our mind that they were coming to Oregon once they gave us that commitment because of who they are.”

In a previous posting, we listed the five recruits. There will also be photos and statistics from their junior seasons in our story that will be in the print edition and posted on-line Thursday.

Bob Clark has covered Oregon basketball over a span of the past six head coaches, from Dick Harter to Dana Altman. He’s watched some of the biggest wins for the Ducks, a couple of trips to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament and yes, also the most-lopsided loss ever recorded in McArthur Court.